How to Set Yourself Up for Success when Starting as a new PM | Ft. Sophia from @ProductPlayBook 📕📗📘
First days of school have been replaced by starting new jobs. Instead of cool new backpacks it's defining the best way to get yourself out on the right foot! Thanks Sophia for collab'ing on this :)
👋🏽 Hey! Thanks for checking in with this month’s issue of Tyler Talks Product! On the personal side, I just finished a full month of work! Feels good to have the first one down, but I know there’s still a lot of learning to be done. Recently, I’ve been prepping for a full-marathon and it’s been difficult waking up at 6ish in the morning to squeeze a run 😰
For those of you that are new here, here are some issues you may have missed that I think are worth the read:
How 15-Mins Resets My Entire Day ☀️🌑 | Lucus' Productivity Corner - What is Capture Mode 📸
The Most Overlooked Product Management Skill 😱: Design Principles 🎨
Decoding Metrics as a Product Manager 📊 | Lessons from an Intern and a Senior PM @ Microsoft
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Before I begin, I just wanted to send a huge shoutout to Sophia’s TikTok channel. I found her content a while back; it’s gold on a screen! I recommend following her - I loved the PRD breakdown series she’s doing right now :)
Imagine you’re running the 400m. You hear the starting gun go off, and your immediate thought is to move your feet as fast as possible to cross the finish line. You win by a hair! However, the win can be attributed to factors aside from the actual race. How you place your feet, your opening stance and your internal motivation play pivotal factors in winning the race.
The same can be said for starting a new job. Whether it be an internship or starting a FT job (both I’ve gone through), understanding how to get off to a great start can be foundational to having the career you aspire to have! Like running, there are premeditated choices that everyone takes on how to be great: the same goes for starting a new job on your best foot (see what I did there)!
So how do you hit the ground running?
I know this topic applies to a lot of my readers; I wanted to bring in someone who started in a new place and has helped others onboard in their organization. For those who don’t know Sophia, she is a tenured product manager in the AI space with both big-tech and start-up experience.
I thought she would be the perfect person to ask given her experience. Her content is super easy to digest so I know the advice she gives would be not only valid but easy to understand :)
When it comes to starting at a new job as a product manager, some of the biggest pieces of advice I can give are:
Both you and your manager play off each other to achieve goals. It’s important that you’re synced on what these are. When done right, this relationship can super charge your development.
⚠️ Why is this Important? ⚠️
Your manager plays a vital role in your development. There are three archetypes that your manager can play for you:
Coach: teaches you skills and helps you identify meaningful projects to grow your career.
Professor: evaluates your work and decides if you qualify for promotions or bonuses.
Recommendation Writer: vouches for you to get that promo or that job on an adjacent team.
🫵🏼 Why You Matter to this Relationship? 🫵🏼
It may seem you’re gaining everything from this exchange; that’s not true. You give your manager the ability to showcase that they can build an effective team. Handling ever-changing team dynamics is a soft skill that becomes increasingly important as you advance in your career. Mentoring newcomers also helps contribute effectively to business goals.
🧗🏻 Why This Can Be Hard? 🧗🏻
For many, this is a new relationship they haven’t encountered yet. You may personally know a coach, a professor, and an advocate. However, to manage those dynamics from a single person can be new.
🗺️ Tips and Advice 🗺️
Two pieces of advice I would give are:
Understand the goals that your manager wants to reach. Ask: “What are our target metrics as a team? How do we define success?”
Understand how your work contributes to those goals. Notice how other PMs talk about their features, and how those features contribute to business goals. For example, you can do this by reading their product specs (aka product requirements).
Conflict is something you’ll encounter at some point. However, the approach to conflict can dictate results heavily.
⚠️Why is this Important? ⚠️
Different people have different perspectives, so disagreement is inevitable.
🧗🏻 Why This Can Be Hard? 🧗🏻
Disagreeing with someone when you first begin a job can be scary. When a teammate has more tenure or experience in a domain, raising a disagreement feels even more intimidating. Additionally, often one doesn't engage in conflict over fear of how the action will be perceived (uncooperative or difficult ).
🗺️ Tips and Advice 🗺️
Don’t say “No” - say “yes, if.” For example, your manager might want you to ship a feature, but you know it will take more time than they expect. Instead of saying “no,” say: “Yes, if we deprioritize __,” or “Yes if we can bring another person onto this project.” That helps your manager understand what it takes to achieve their goal, and you empower them with options for achieving their goal.
Asking for help can always feel awkward when you don’t know if you can solve the issue at hand or not. There’s a great way to achieve that balance by setting realistic expectations for yourself and being honest when you do need help.
⚠️Why is this Important? ⚠️
You will need a lot of help - no matter how much experience you have as a PM. No matter your GPA; there are many team-specific things you’ll have to learn when you join a new team: new tools, new processes, new personalities, new expectations, new “unspoken rules.”
🧗🏻 Why This Can Be Hard? 🧗🏻
Often, more tenured team members often forget how lonely it can feel to start a new role, especially when you may be the only new person on your team. Starting out can feel like trying to navigate a room in the dark. It’s impossible to know what you do not know. No one has the time to create a perfect step-by-step curriculum for you - no one knows exactly what knowledge you come in with. People wait for YOU to ask questions.
🗺️ Tips and Advice 🗺️
Ask for help early. The faster you ramp up, the quicker you can contribute to the team.
When you ask someone a question, (1) explain why their help is important, and (2) show the effort you’ve put into answering the question. For example: “I want to know whether my A/B test has reached statistical significance, or if I need to run the experiment for another week. I’m having trouble setting up this dashboard. I already watched this tutorial, and I’m stuck on step 4. I tried X and Y. What do you recommend I try next?”
Which of these tips will you try?
Which tip is your favourite?
Are you starting a new job or co-op soon?
Let me know in the comments :) Resources of the Month 📕
Recent Things I’ve Been Into
🤳🏽 No Filter: The Story of Instagram 🤳🏽
📊 SQL HandBook: Been Using this a lot on the Job Recently 📊
💻 Online CS Github Repo for Free 💻
On General Product Prep
Try Exponent: A PM website home to questions, company guides, and 1:1 interviews with other aspiring PMs.
Tech Talk for Non-Developers: A course dedicated to demystifying technical concepts for product managers in a more digestible way. (Fun Fact: I did this course and it helped a ton with my first PM job!)
APM List: APM season is here, keep up to date with PM job postings!
Coffee Program and Thank You ☕️
Thank you for taking the time to read this month’s issue! I’ll see you next month :)
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Keep the conversation going.
Until next month,
~ Tyler